4th of July BBQ!

We had such a fun family party on the 3rd of July! We were all together to celebrate the 4th, and we started off the morning by going to see Toy Story 3! What a fantastic movie! Definitely one that we want to see again! I loved Scooter's "commentary" during the movie - "Mom look, it's Woody and Buzz!" ..."Oh no, that's not good!" and other cute little things! And luckily the people we were sitting by were patient and didn't tell us to "shoosh" or anything...Of course, I guess when you sit by family they don't have much choice but to be patient with you! haha!

Then we went to Nanny & Papa's house (Scooter has been calling my dad "Pops" lately, which I think is so cute!) and had a BBQ and a swimming party!

Erica and Aubrey were so nice to work as lifeguards at the pool! (Derek & Mauri called them that! They were good sports too, considering that they didn't walk away from the pool dry...) Here is Erica catching Derek as he goes down the slide!
Having fun!
Mauri sliding through Erica's legs!
Splash!


Drying off for a few minutes on his new Buzz Lightyear towel from Nanny & Papa.
Taking a small break to sit at the kids picnic table & drink his kid sized Shasta!
What a fun, fun day! The times we get to spend with family are some of my absolute favorite! And we were oh so happy that this bbq did not end like our one last year... No injuries or trips to the hospital! Phew! Made it even better!!

Our New Favorite Camping Spot!

We went camping with Lins, Glendon, Mauri, Aubrey & Tyler last weekend, and this camping trip was much better than our camping trip last year! (even though that trip was pretty funny!). We went to Wasatch Mountain State Park. We had never been there, but Lins and Glendon had, and they told us great things about it! And we loved it! The campsites were awesome, there was plenty of room for the kiddos to run around and play, and they had actual bathrooms - not scary, hold your breath and run out "bathrooms!" Yay!

Here is Scooter in the car on the way there!
Digging in the dirt! He and Mauri were both covered in dirt, but they had so much fun - and we were just happy that they didn't have to play in mud this time!!
Mauri playing the drums! The firewood we brought up was from a woodworking store that was closing down, and the kids had a lot of fun playing with it before we tossed it in the fire!
They had this big open field and a pond just down the road from where we were camping, so we had a fun afternoon playing frisbee, catch and feeding the ducks!

The Kiddos, having fun!

Feeding the ducks!
On the playground with Daddy!
One of the few times the kiddos were sitting still! We were all helping get dinner ready, so Lins put in a movie for Derek & Mauri, and they had a great time hanging out in their camp chairs & eating some pre-dinner snacks!
We had such a great time camping, and we can't wait to go again! There were two fun things I didn't get a picture of that I wish I did! One was our cute camp host, Mr. Tunney. We saw him & talked to him several times, and every time we saw him he tried to convince Mar that girls shouldn't have dirt on their faces. He told her that girls weren't supposed to like dirt, and Mauri said "Well I do!" He also gave the kids a ride in his golf cart, which made their day! He was so nice!

The other thing I wish I would have taken a picture of was when we were at the pond playing, and the kids were on the playground. There was a time when only Mauri & Derek were using the playground, and then some other kids walked over to play. Lins said: "Is she (Mauri) being threatening?" and we turned to see Mar standing at the top of the stairs holding a stick almost as big as she was, and the other kids just looking up at her!! It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, and is still making me chuckle! We love that girl! She is always cracking us up!! (Oh, and Glendon went over to her & she said she was just asking the other kids if they wanted to play what she & Derek were playing! But Glendon took the stick away- since it might have been a bit threatening!)

Art City Days!

We love celebrating Art City Days! I think it is so much fun to share things with Scooter that I loved as a kid, and I always looked forward to Art City Days! (I still do!). We went to a talent show one night, and that was really fun! Then we also went to the carnival. We had fun sharing a Giant scone, and Scooter thought the rides were really great!

Driving the truck! ...He kept scowling when we told him to turn for a picture! I think he was a little nervous too, but he really had fun! He would hop off one ride & say "Can I go on another one?" He's so cute!


Here he is driving the cars.
On the lady bug! ...I think it's a lady bug?!

On the motorcycle!

The circus train!
On Saturday morning we headed to the parade! We were so excited that it wasn't raining! It was a little bit cool, (can you tell, since Scooter is wearing a sweatshirt & hat?!), but it was actually perfect parade weather! It was nice not to be melting in the sun!
Scooter was really excited for the firetrucks, but when they were right in front of us - they were a little too loud!
Eating an otter pop! He had so much fun watching all of the parade, but especially running out to get candy!

Happy Birthday Kiddo!

Scooter turned 3 last week- and we can't believe he's getting so big!! Daddy had the day off of work, and we had a great time together! He was very excited to find some money in a card from great grandma & grandpa!
We went to story time at the library, and then headed to one of Scooter's favorite places: the zoo! He says to us all the time: "We should go to the zoo!" This baby elephant is one of the cutest things ever!
Scooter & Daddy!
Scooter & Mommy!
I can't remember why he was covering his ears here! He is so funny!
On the merry-go-round! He asked about this all through the zoo, so he was very happy when we finally got there! And he was doubly excited to ride it twice!

I don't remember ever actually seeing a peacock with his feathers all out like that! We thought it was so awesome!
Getting some cotton candy for some cute kiddos! It was a blast to have Lins & Mauri join us at the zoo!
Scooter's Handy Manny cake.... It did not turn out as good as I would have liked.... but he was happy with it! And I'm sure the cakes will get better as I practice more! Anywho.... It was fun to make & he liked it!
Opening some presents! What a lucky little boy! He received so many fun gifts and cards from everyone! Thank you guys, So Much! It makes my heart happy to know there are so many wonderful people who love this little boy so much!
This grin makes me so happy! He was thrilled to get his very own headphones & mp3 player (or as he calls it, an mp2 player! ha ha!)
Blowing out the famous birthday candle!
Happy Happy Birthday Scooter Boy! We are so, so happy that you are in our family buddy! We love you So much!!

Friday! Field Trip Day!

These pictures are actually from a field trip we took a few weeks ago! We went to the dinosaur museum & the bean museum at BYU! It was so fun to have Daddy, & Lins & Mar join us!

Whoa... Check out those bones!
Happy kiddos on a field trip!
Daddy & Scooter! Ryan was able to get off work early - and we were so glad he could come with us!
Playing with toys after looking at all the fun animals!
What a cutie!
Thanks for coming with us Lins & Mar! And thanks Lins for suffering from my "brilliant - Not brilliant- idea!" Ha ha! I thought it would be great if we put both car seats in our car, and one of us could squish in the back! I thought one of us could squish on the way there, & we'd switch on the way back! But poor Lins was squished back there the whole time!! I have to be honest, though, I'm afraid I would have gotten totally stuck trying to wedge between those two seats, so thanks for saving me from that embarrassing moment! ...Although, it would have added another interesting element to our field trip...ha ha ha!

I looked out the window & what did I see...

Well...it wasn't popcorn popping on the apricot tree today! Ha ha! This is actually what it looked like on Friday morning, and Saturday morning too! Scooter was excited to shovel the snow, though. And to be honest, I don't really mind when it snows - even this late in the year - (unless we have some outdoor fun planned!), because at this point you know it won't last long, and for some reason I have always loved the snow! So it's just like you get one (or two, or three...) last glimpse of winter until it snows again in October!
I thought these clouds looked cool!
Shoveling the snow!

I haven't heard of shoveling snow onto the sidewalk before...Ha ha! By the time he was done there were little tiny piles of snow all the way down the sidewalk!

We're thankful for our family!

Scooter almost always says "We're thankful for our family" when he says his prayer, and it is So true! We love our family so much & are so grateful when we get to spend time together! Here are some pictures of the fun time we had with Grandma, Grandpa & Katelynn!

Out riding his bike on Thursday night!
Showing everyone how high he can jump!
Calling for Katelynn!! Whenever she would go out of the room he would call for her!
So happy!!
Kisses for Katelynn!
Playing with Grandpa!
Testing out his birthday surprise! He loves this bike!

What?! Another birthday surprise?! What a lucky kiddo!!
Grandma, Grandpa & Katelynn left on Sunday, and on Monday we were outside (riding bikes!) & Scooter asked if Grandma & Grandpa & Katelynn were coming on an airplane & then in their car to our house, and I said no, not today. And he said, "Awwwww, but I want them to watch me ride my bike!" We really had such a fun visit! And I'm going to work twice as hard on figuring out how to apparate so that we can pop in for a visit a few times a week! (or day?!)